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http://www.saleawayvintage.com/blog/14082697http://www.saleawayvintage.com/blog/14082697
Sun, 02 Nov 2014 01:11:50 PDTSalesSince I got to California three months ago, a lot has happened to keep me occupied. But the whole time something was missing.... that something was having my own physical space to sell my vintage items. But that void has now been filled! Yesterday I set up my new (tiny) booth in the Cordelia Junction Antique Mall in Fairfield, CA.

Here's what it looked like before I set it up:

Cordelia's is a great shopping place for vintage collectors, made up of small and large booths plus real railroad cars used as vending space, and a large area that is all furniture. If you are in the Bay Area, it is worth a trip. Just head east from Oakland/Berkeley on I-80 and look for the train cars near the Suisun Valley exit. The prices are reasonable and the merchandise is plentiful!

Here's what the booth looks like now!

Looking forward to making improvements and changes--will keep you posted.

Now that I can drive my car again (finally got my California driver's license and registration!) I am starting to check out more thrifting options. Oddly, garage sales aren't common in this area--I'm not sure why because the weather is perfect every day! There are many large flea markets especially on the week-ends or some are monthly, but I have found their prices are mostly retail, so I go there to get ideas but seldom purchase.

I've found a couple of great church-related thrift stores, but it's tricky to get there during their few open hours, and when they are open they are BUSY. Also, here in the Richmond-El Cerrito-Berkeley area, finding a parking place is like digging for gold. You can take the BART, but don't buy anything heavy or bulky! Also, bring cash, because some places don't take credit or debit cards. My two favorites so far are "Turnabout" on San Pablo in El Cerrito, and "The Cellar" in the basement of the First Congregational Church in Berkeley. I like their stuff because it's the kind of thing mostly saved by housewives in their cupboards and closets for years, just in case they might still need it or because they got it for a wedding gift 40 or 50 years ago!

I'm finding lots of retro kitchen and home decor in the wonderful oranges, greens, and golds of the late 60's and early 70's. I also often find coats, sweaters and boots that have barely been worn--it just doesn't get cold enough here! I'm putting the retro stuff on my Etsy site (see "Shop" tab to for Etsy listings) and also some of the coats and sweaters.

If you know of any other good places for a seller like me to find great vintage merchandise in this area, please let me know!

]]>http://www.saleawayvintage.com/blog/14061060http://www.saleawayvintage.com/blog/14061060
Tue, 02 Sep 2014 11:09:27 PDTThriftingOn the most gorgeous Labor Day ever, my family and I travelled 30 miles into another universe, the land of bargain hunters, junk pickers, street vendor food, and baloon animals! I was in heaven, and the family humored me. The small town of Niles has a main street which is mostly antique stores, but on this particular day the ENTIRE town becomes a flea market. After a couple of hours of looking at all the overpriced "antiques", we left the main drag and found the real place to shop, which was yard sales by the the homeowners in the area.

Since our adventuresome toddler Harper didn't really want to ride in her stroller, we were able to use it as a shopping cart. I even managed to balance the fabulous mid-century wood chair that I bought for a whopping $3 on the top of it.

We also sampled some excellent street cuisine--Cara and I had corn dogs, and Mike had a giant Bad-Ass Sausage. Either they were really good, or we were really hungry!

If I come back next year, I will take a large vehicle, get there early and just go straight to the yard sales!